South-Central Region
Regional director: Beth Willingham, Baylor University, beth_willingham@baylor.edu
2013 South-Central Regional Conference
"'My God, My God: Why Have You Forsaken Me?': Literature of Abandonment, Isolation, Despair--& Hope"
March 8-9, 2013
New Orleans
Contact Dr. Claudia Champagne at cchampagne@olhcc.edu for information.
2012 South-Central Regional Conference
"The Bible in Literature"
May 26-27, 2012
Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans-Convention Center Hotel
1201 Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70130
Keynote speaker: Dr. Patricia A. Ward, Professor Emerita of French and Comparative Literature at Vanderbilt University, presenting "Women Readers of The Song of Songs"
Paper presentations and creative writing on any aspect of the theme—allusions to the Bible, biblical themes and narratives, biblical figures and types, etc.—are welcome. Length should be about 8 pages (15-20 minutes). Please send proposals (one-page abstracts) to Dr. Claudia Champagne at cchampagne@olhcc.edu by February 29, 2012. Presentations at SCCCL 2012 will be limited in number in order that all sessions may be plenary, so selection of proposals will be competitive.
Registration ($75) and hotel reservations ($129 per night) must be completed by April 25, 2012 (no extensions). All participants must be members of the Conference on Christianity and Literature by April 25, 2012 ($35 regular membership/$30 graduate students). Travel grants are available from CCL for graduate students.
SCCCL 2012 is sponsored by the Department of English, History, and Mathematics of Our Lady of Holy Cross College, New Orleans, Louisiana, A Ministry of the Marianites of Holy Cross.
2011 South-Central Conference
“Sin, Piety, and Celebration in Literature and the Arts”
February 11-12, 2O11
New Orleans Hampton Inn Downtown/French Quarter
A welcome reception was held at the Hampton Inn during the early evening of Thursday, February 10. SCCCL 2011 was attended by 39 participants on Friday, February 11, when 8 concurrent sessions were held. The plenary Keynote Address, entitled "For the Irreligious," followed at 5:00pm that evening and was given by Dr. William T. Cotton, Professor Emeritus of English at Loyola University of New Orleans. It was a fascinating reflection on several works, from medieval to contemporary, in which spirituality is present. There was a dinner in honor of the keynote speaker at the nearby Red Fish Grill. On Saturday morning, February 12, two plenary sessions were held, during the first of which four poets read their original works. Particularly rewarding was that 7 graduate students presented papers at SCCCL, several of them for the first time at a scholarly conference. They have reported that their experience was rewarding and affirming. Other veteran presenters have commented that SCCCL 2011 was a highly congenial gathering for the sharing of ideas.
2010 South-Central Conference
"Is April Really 'the Cruelest Month'? Images of Springtime, Easter, and the Wasteland in Literature and the Arts"
April 16-17, 2010
Doubletree Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana
The meeting was organized by Dr. Claudia M. Champagne at cchampagne@olhcc.edu and Sr. Donna M. Gould, dgould@xula.edu. It was sponsored by the Department of English, History, and Mathematics of Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans and the Department of English of Xavier University of Louisiana.
2009 South-Central Conference
"Human Experience as the Mask of God: The Hero's Journey as the Quest for the Sacred in Literature and the Arts"
May 22-23, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana
About 22 members attended this conference, sponsored by Xavier University of Louisiana at the Hampton Inn Garden District. The theme of the conference attracted a number of graduate students who engaged in discussions with their peers and scholars in attendance, thus, creating an atmosphere conducive to helpful suggestions and encouraging comments. Because we scheduled only one meeting for each session, the audience for every paper was larger than usual; thus, enriching and extending the discussions.
The high point of our conference was the key note speaker from Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. Robin Vander's presentation was titled "Reflections of the Divine in African American Woman's Writing." The audience was impressed by Robin's insights and expressed their gratitude. Overall the 2009 SCCCL held in New Orleans was very successful. Thanks to all who participated.
Donna Marie Gould
SCCCL Regional Coordinator
2008 Regional Conference
More than 35 people attended the regional conference Feb. 21-23 at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. Ralph Wood of Baylor University was the keynote speaker for the meeting, which was focused on the theme, "In Search of the Peaceable Kingdom: Studies in the Literature of Conflict, Struggle, and Hope."
2007 Regional Symposium
"Crossing Traditions: Faith and Religion in Literature nd the Arts"
Fourteen participants attended the symposium in Taos, New Mexico, at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. The nature of a symposium, composed of fewer participants, enabled enthusiastic discussions not only after the presentations but also in the leisure of the evenings. The theme of the symposium “Crossing Traditions” attracted diversity in the participants including Christians and non-Christians which enriched sharing. Overall the meeting was very successful. All the participants voiced their appreciation for the symposium.
Donna Marie Gould
2006 Regional Conference
The South-Central Conference on Christianity and Literature, sponsored by Xavier University of Louisiana, met April 1, 2006, at the Garden District Hotel on historic St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. Fortunately, the site was part of the 20 percent of New Orleans that was not flooded when the levees broke under pressure of the surge from Hurricane Katrina.
The SCCCL regional meeting originally had been scheduled for Memphis, but Christian Brothers University was forced to cancel due to ill health of the sponsoring faculty member. Xavier University assumed sponsorship even though the University was seriously damaged in the flooding and had only opened its doors in January after being closed since August 26, 2005. The original theme, "Theology and the Poetic Imagination," was revised to include a wider range of papers, but nearly all papers touched directly or indirectly on that topic.
Twenty-six participants and guests attended the conference. The plenary presentation was "Faith, Hopelessness, and Love: Writings on the Walls in Post Katrina New Orleans" by Katheryn Krotzer Laborde.
The site of the 2007 regional conference has not been determined, but it will likely be a symposium on a special topic, as a practice of alternating between a conference and a symposium was begun in 2004. The 2008 conference will meet at LeTourneau University, under the direction of Martin Batts, the current South-Central regional director.
Thomas Bonner
Xavier University
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